Title: Where Your Road Leads
Author: Sarafu
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Power Rangers do not belong to me.
Summary: After ten years of hard work, the Dino Thunder team has found success, but for two of them, happiness remains elusive. Can they find it in each other?
Dedication: To anyone on LJ that I've ever exchanged comments with or gotten feedback from in the last three years. But special gratitude belongs to Jarel for being awesome and to Casey for reading through this chapter and being chief stick-poker unknowingly.
Notes: This chapter is a year in the making so I hope it's worth the wait. Thank you for your patience.
Chapter 9: Summer Before the War
March 2014
Later that month, Conner and Kira slipped into the tiny restaurant where they had shared lunch together three months earlier. He grinned at the startled host. "Hey, Matt, got room for a couple more?"
"Conner, Miss Ford, what a pleasant surprise!" Matt said, covertly searching behind them for the crowd of paparazzi that he expected to be following them.
She smiled sweetly and insisted, "Please call me Kira, Matt. Too many people already call me Miss Ford. And from what Conner's told me about your family, I'd rather we were friends instead."
Leaning forward, Conner confided, "Don't worry, Matt. The nice thing about everyone knowing about us is that we can leak misinformation. They're going to be waiting at the top of the Pru for a long time."
"On the other hand, the longer you wait in the doorway, the more likely someone will recognize you and call those vultures," Jorge said, his gravelly tone all business as he appeared in the doorway.
Matt winced slightly, but he picked up three menus and gestured for them to follow him. "Tables for two and one?"
"Preferably like last time," the bodyguard answered. "Well-hidden."
The couple gave him sympathetic looks. "Only if you can, Matt," Kira said, quick to reassure him.
"Of course we can do that, Mi – Kira. Business is fairly quiet tonight." He led them to a cozy corner booth. "The lattice helps keep the prying eyes to a minimum, and I'll seat your companion right across the way there."
"Perfect. Thanks, Matt, you're a lifesaver." Conner helped Kira into the booth and slid into the spot next to her.
"Can I get you started on something to drink while you look at the menu?"
The pair exchanged a look while Kira laid her hand on top of Conner's hand. "A bottle of champagne, please. We're celebrating tonight."
"Celebrating the rest of the world knowing your secret?" Matt asked dryly.
"That, too," Conner said with a grin.
Matt returned the grin and walked over to Jorge's table. The bodyguard had settled immediately without waiting to be seated. "This wasn't really what I had in mind for celebrating your birthday, Conner."
"The restaurant?"
"No, the press conference."
"If it means I get to have you to myself for a whole extra day, I'm not going to complain." Conner stared at her meaningfully, his hungry expression making it clear what he was not complaining about.
"Conner!" she scolded in a laughing tone.
His reply was unapologetic. "Sorry. You were saying?"
"How do you think the press conference went?"
"I think you were brilliant, sweetheart," he said, loyalty seeping into every syllable.
Kira rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Do you think it will calm them down any?"
"Both Rod and Penelope think it will. And they're going to be so busy trying to find angles and scoop each other that I think we'll have a little bit of breathing room. And we're going to be spending a ton of time apart for the next few months anyway. Unless you've reconsidered moving to Boston for now?" he finished hopefully.
His hope was negated when she shook her head. "Conner, we've talked about this. I need to be working on my next album."
"You can work on your next album here," he pointed out.
Matt arrived at that moment, bearing champagne and glasses. His broad smile didn't falter even when he realized that their discussion was serious. "Our best champagne in honor of your celebration. Have you decided what you want to order?"
Mustering a smile, Kira picked up her unopened menu and glanced cursorily over the list. "You know, I really enjoyed the ravioli alfredo last time so I'll just have that again and a Caesar salad."
"The usual, Matt," Conner said without looking at the menu. "No fries though. Coach wants me to cut back on 'em before the World Cup."
"Right, vegetables instead," Matt answered, noting it down and missing the soccer star's grimace.
When Matt walked away, Conner turned back to Kira with an expectant look. "So?"
"I can't just pick up and leave for three months. We've had this discussion already."
"Why not?" Lots of great writers found inspiration here. Aerosmith. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon."
Kira sighed. "It's not that simple, Conner. The recording studio is in L.A. All of my media appearances are in the area. And I've offered to take care of Alexa and Ben occasionally. I have commitments there," she reminded him gently.
"I know. I just wish you could be here. I miss having you nearby." Conner's tone was full of acceptance.
She squeezed his hand. "Remember I've already cleared July to come and watch you win the World Cup."
"Who's the arrogant one now?" he teased. "Besides, you're only coming so you can sing the National Anthem at our games."
"That was the upside to being your girlfriend," Kira retorted. "And that's not the only reason. That was going to be my cover story if our relationship was still a secret in July."
"Yeah, but there's a part of me that's glad it's not a secret anymore. Watching you go to the Grammys with Ethan was hard."
Kira laughed at his whiny tone. "Well, I guess you don't have to worry about that anymore."
"Cool! I always wanted to go to the Video Music Awards. I mean have you seen some of the things that those girls wear?" His face lit up with childish delight, reminding Kira of the way he used to react to simple joy in high school.
Poking him for the second part of his comment, she protested lightly, "I probably won't be nominated for anything this year."
"There's always next year," he said, dismissing her words. "And aren't you supposed to go even when you're not nominated?"
Wordless, Kira shook her head. He always talked about long-term plans without heeding the implications. When he thought about the future, all he saw was their relationship, something that both scared and awed Kira. At the press conference, he had treaded lightly, only claiming to love her, but Kira knew he was certain she was the one. Not for the first time, she wished she felt the same way. In a lot of ways, she was still coming to terms with her own deepening feelings for him.
"Hey, earth to Kira," he said softly, watching the rapid change of expressions that crossed her face. If nothing else, she had forced him to learn patience. He still worried that he might push her too hard and chase her away in his enthusiasm.
"Sorry, I was thinking," she answered with an apologetic smile.
"About something serious." He nudged her quietly. "It's my birthday. No serious unhappy thoughts."
"It's your birthday?" Matt asked, setting down their dinner trays. "So that's what you're celebrating."
"It's a good reason." Kira smiled privately. "After all, he's a year closer to being old and gray."
"Be quiet, Miss-I'm-Only-A-Few-Months-Away-From-Being-The-Same-Age," Conner retorted good-naturedly. "Besides, I still have a couple of days before my birthday."
Reaching across the table, she ruffled his hair, a familiar gesture of affection. She was still the only person allowed to muss his hair and took advantage of that fact as often as she was able. "You just keep telling yourself that, Conner. Then you'll be surprised when your hair starts to fall out." The bickering couple failed to notice that Matt had slipped off with a smile.
"My hair is not going to fall out," Conner said, touching his hair anyway to ensure that it hadn't started to fall out while he wasn't looking.
"That's not what Eric says."
"If my hair falls out, then Eric's is going to also." Conner picked up his fork and stole some ravioli from her plate. "So don't think you can replace me with him."
"I wouldn't dream of dumping you to date Eric." When he gave her a goofy smile in return, she said, "I'd dump you for a handsome, young guy who won't go bald." The way his smile disintegrated made her laugh and she offered an apologetic giggle. "I promise not to trade you in . . . at least not this year."
"That's good to know, Kira. I'd hate to have to break in someone new just as I was getting used to you."
She shook her head at his arch look and returned his volley was one of her own. "Don't lie, Conner – if I traded you in for a better model, your heart would be broken."
Conner laughed. "I can't exactly take you seriously when there is no other better model."
"You know, Con, your ego isn't always the most charming thing in the world."
"Yeah, you tell me that constantly – so far I haven't seen any sort of evidence that it's the case." Kira kicked him under the table. "Ouch! Why is your first reaction always violence?"
"It's amazing how about works, isn't it? I don't know why you always seem to inspire violence in me." She sounded affectionate when she said these words, discounting the bite of her comments.
"I really don't know why either. I'd much rather inspire other things instead." He leaned forward to touch her hands, caressing them intimately.
Matt came back at that moment, bringing another bottle of champagne. "It's courtesy of the house," he said. "For my favorite customer's birthday."
"Thanks, Matt." Conner grinned pointedly. "At least I'm someone's favorite."
"Hey, you're my favorite soccer player." She paused and finished, "I guess you're my favorite boyfriend, too."
"I feel so special," he said sotto voce. "Matt, can I have some of your most excellent spumoni?" Matt nodded and moved away after determining that Kira preferred something a bit warmer to counteract the bitter cold outside.
"Well?" Conner looked at Kira expectantly.
"Well, what?"
"Do I get my birthday present?"
"Remember how you told me you still had a few days before you got old? I think you should have to wait until Saturday." Her expression was halfway amused and halfway mulish.
"Kira . . ."
"Nope."
"But everyone else's gifts will show up at the party. I don't want your gift getting lost," he said, changing tactics.
She laughed merrily. "Maybe you should try that on someone who hasn't had to put up with your incessant demands for hints. Ten years is a long time to have to deal with that, and I've learned a lot of patience."
"Your gift probably sucks anyway," he pouted.
"I know that one, too." He gave up when Matt brought out the dessert though he still had one final thing to say.
As he spooned the spumoni into his mouth, he mumbled, "It better be good though."
When Saturday rolled around, Conner had ramped up his requests for his birthday present, alternately cajoling and threatening her as soon as he got home from practice. Kira was amused by his displays of petulance and made sure that he was aware of her laughter – it inevitably led to Conner chasing Kira around his apartment into the bedroom. After one such bout that morning (post-breakfast because Conner felt that it was the most important meal of the day), she handed him a large box wrapped in red soccer paper.
"Finally!" he said, shaking the box. "It's kind of heavy to be something from Victoria's Secret."
Kira smirked. "If I'd known you wanted lingerie, Con, I would have bought you some to wear around the house."
He gave her a look that said she would pay for that later and tore open the box to reveal a large scrapbook. Peering at the front cover, he said, "It's a book."
"Score one for the Mensa member," she replied, dissolving into giggles when he glanced at her in confusion. "Just open it, you big dork."
"Ethan's the dork," he said automatically and started to turn the pages. "Kira, this is awesome. And you got pictures from everyone – there's a ton of pictures of just us."
Kira leaned over and pointed out one of the pictures. "That one is my favorite."
"I don't even remember them taking that on draft day. Did I really kiss your cheek?"
"Yeah, our first kiss," she teased. "I think it was right after they announced that you had been drafted first."
"That makes sense." He paused for a long moment, trying to remember everything that had happened that day. "I don't really remember everything."
Her smile was sweet as she touched his hand. "It was a huge deal – too much excitement and craziness that day. But you're not the only one; I barely remember the day they offered me a record deal."
"Nice try." He flipped through the scrapbook, pausing to look at pictures from high school. There were several of Hayley's café with the three of them in the middle of talking or watching Kira play or cheering Ethan on. "From Hayley, I presume?"
She nodded. "And a few from Devin, too. He kept copies of a lot of video he took while he was with Cassidy so he converted the digital video into images."
"I can't believe you have pictures of the Spring Fling," he said, staring keenly at the picture of him and his date standing with Kira, Trent, Ethan, and Ethan's date. Ethan and his date only had eyes for each other, but Conner was staring longingly at Kira in the photograph.
Her laughter rang through the room. "Of course I have pictures from Spring Fling. Remember how Emily switched partners with me so we could dance together?"
"You knew?" he said, aghast.
"Not at the time, but in retrospect, it makes perfect sense." Her finger ran lightly over his image. "I don't know how I didn't see it, Conner. I mean I must have looked at this picture a thousand times."
"You weren't meant to see it."
Kira looked at him with surprise, hearing the odd bitter note in his voice. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," he muttered and turned the page to find a picture of him winning State while Kira and Ethan cheered for him.
"Don't say that. What's wrong?" she asked persistently.
His tone was abrupt and harsh. "I don't exactly like thinking about how hopeless my love was back then. It was hard to watch everyone else be happy even if I did think I might have a chance some day. I was kind of a loser."
"Conner, you were not a loser. I wouldn't date a loser." He gave her a Look and she coughed slightly. "Fine. But you weren't a loser back then either. At least you tried to get on with your life. How long did it take me before I started dating anyone after Trent? And even then, I didn't usually stick with them for very long."
"That's true," he said, cheered by the thought. She punched him lightly in the arm. "Dude, there's even articles about us in here. Even the sad tabloid ones. Look, here's the first one after your Boston concert, the one that guessed our secret without really guessing it."
"I thought you would enjoy those. David worked his butt off to get all the articles and pictures together so I could spend some time in Paris making the scrapbook. I think he really liked the outlandish stories that he dredged up."
"David totally has it in for me." Conner glanced at final few pages with amusement. "You've even got it updated with all the stuff from this week."
"It's a good thing you had practice yesterday so I could finish the scrapbook. But there are lots of blank pages to fill in." She smiled serenely and said, "Our story isn't over yet."
Conner swallowed at her statement. It was unpredictably out of the blue and quite possibly the most optimistic thing he'd ever heard her say about their relationship. "I hope it's never over," he said impulsively.
"Of course it won't be. We were friends first and we'll always be friends, right?"
He suppressed the disappointment that had welled up. "Right."
"But for now, we're something more," she added, kissing him joyfully. "We should get ready. Ethan and everyone will be here any minute for your party."
"Is that why you gave me this ahead of time?"
"I didn't want my gift to get lost in all the confusion." She smirked at him and he kissed her in response. They pulled apart reluctantly when the doorbell rang.
To nobody's surprise, Ethan was on the other side of the door and he strolled in carelessly. He hugged them both and stepped back. "Do you two feel differently now that the whole world knows the truth?"
Kira was quick to deny it, but Conner sounded relieved when he said, "Yeah, I finally feel like I don't have to hide my personal life. I was getting sick of telling people that I wasn't dating anyone at all."
"Poor baby," Kira replied, patting him on the shoulder. "It must be so miserable to have someone think that you haven't had sex for a long time."
"Whoa, TMI." Ethan shoved a small package in Conner's direction. "Here, catch."
Staring at the size of the package, Conner looked slightly disgruntled. "You shouldn't have."
Ethan ignored the comment, spotting the scrapbook on the coffee table. "Oh, is this it?" When Kira nodded, he plopped himself down on the couch and started thumbing through the pages.
"You told Ethan?" Conner hissed as their best friend chuckled at one of the more embarrassing shots of Conner trying to get away from a tabloid reporter.
She shrugged unconcernedly. "He helped me out a lot with some of the pictures and tracking down the articles."
"Hey, Kira," Ethan said, looking up from the book, "Jorge asked me to remind you that the only reason he and the label agreed to staying here instead of at a hotel was because you promised you would call when you wanted to leave."
Frowning, Kira played idly with the arm of Conner's couch. "What is he talking about?"
"You, him, and ice cream? Sound familiar?"
"We walked two blocks to the ice cream place," she said. "How did he even know?"
Ethan shook his head. "You guys were seen. And more than a few people noticed that your entourage was a lot smaller than it usually is."
"So what?" Conner demanded. "She should be able to leave the building if she needs to without having to call her bodyguard. Besides, I was with her."
Ethan shot Kira an ambiguous look, but she stood and walked over to touch Conner's shoulder. "It's okay. He's right – I'm not supposed to do anything like that according to my contract with the label."
"That's stupid. You're not even on tour or anything right now."
Smiling affectionately, Kira kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Con. I'm gonna go call Jorge and talk to him about it."
"Good idea," Ethan said mildly.
Conner flopped on the couch next to him. "What kind of contract is that?"
"It's no different than the clause in your contract that doesn't allow you to go off and do something stupid."
The doorbell rang again, cutting off an argument that probably had to do with Conner needing bodyguards from obsessive fans trying to rip his clothes off. Conner grumbled a little but opened the door with his most charismatic grin.
"Happy birthday," Kim said, handing Ben to Tommy so she could give him a hug. "I'm glad you decided to invite us to Boston this time."
"Hey, that invitation is a standing invitation for all of you," he retorted. Conner had decided that he wanted a small party for several reasons including the size of his apartment and so had limited it to people in Reefside and Eric. Conner greeted everyone with the same exuberant hug until he arrived at Trent who was hanging back. He shook his hand stiffly and said, "Hi, Trent. Glad you could make it."
Trent smiled tightly. "Happy birthday. Thanks for inviting me." Neither of them touched on the fact that it had been Kira's idea to invite Trent along with everyone else.
Snapping her cell phone shut, Kira emerged from Conner's bedroom and grinned at the group. "Guys!" she said, flinging her arms around everyone including Trent. She immediately held out her hands for Ben as Alexa ran toward Conner's PS5 with a squeal of delight.
Ethan helped Alexa out by setting up the PS5 for her. Hayley looked at Conner and asked, "Are you going to show us around?"
"Well, there isn't much to see exactly."
Kira laughed cheerfully. "He isn't wrong, Hayley. It's pretty much this, the bathroom, and the bedroom."
"I just don't understand. You and Kira both have enough money to buy homes," Tommy added. "Why would you want to live in an apartment?"
"I wouldn't dream of speaking for Conner, but I haven't had time to do any kind of looking for a place to settle down in. Maybe this summer."
Conner nodded agreeably. "For me, it's that I spent so much time moving around. After June, I don't know where I'll be. I'll be a free agent again after this season so I may wind up back on the West Coast. It's not worth it to buy a house until I have a better idea of where I might permanently settle down. And right now, I don't want to buy a house on the opposite coast of my girlfriend anyway."
Kim thumped Tommy on the arm affectionately. "See, they know what they're doing, honey."
Everyone laughed at his confused expression. "So where's the grub?" Ethan asked.
"Oh, crap, I forgot to order pizza. Drinks and the vegetable tray are in the fridge, chips are on top. Since you're so hungry, maybe you should serve the drinks and snacks, Ethe," Conner suggested. He didn't check to see if Ethan actually did it, choosing to pick up his cordless phone so he could order several large pizzas (and a few salads).
Kira shifted Ben on her hip and gestured to Trent to follow her into the small dining nook. "I wanted to let you know that I thought about your invite for the Reefside Youth Center opening and well, Conner convinced me that it was a very good idea since I'm going to be in town so if you still want me, I'd be happy to do it."
"Oh, Kira," he said, his face lighting up. "Of course I want you. You'll always be welcome at the Youth Center and your presence will make the opening ceremonies especially important."
Conner strolled up at that moment and held out his arms for Ben who went happily into his arms. "Boom!" the toddler said.
Patting Ben's head, Kira explained, "I was just explaining to Trent that I wanted to perform at the opening ceremony for the Youth Center."
Trent beamed at her before he turned a dimmer smile in Conner's direction. "I heard I have you to thank for it."
"Don't mention it, man. I didn't have to push very hard," he teased. Trent's smile slipped further when Kira poked Conner in the side after she blushed. "Ethan, your pizza will be here in 45 minutes. Hopefully, the veggie tray will keep you entertained."
Ethan looked very much like he wanted to say something rude, but he glanced at Alexa and Ben and kept his mouth shut. "I'll be fine."
As Kim came over to retrieve Ben, she asked, "When is your family getting in, Conner?"
"They're flying in tomorrow," he answered. "I wanted to give them a chance to meet Kira on neutral ground since I haven't exactly had a chance to take her home to see them since the news broke. Eric knows her, obviously, but my parents have only met her a few times and she was never my girlfriend."
"Sounds serious," Hayley said softly.
"Well, it is moving a lot faster than either of us had planned. I'm afraid the tabloids sort of ruined everything," Kira admitted.
From Conner's grin, it was evident he didn't agree. He liked being able to show off his beautiful, talented girlfriend to the world and he told the whole group as much with pride.
Trent dropped his plastic cup and spilled soda everywhere. While he apologized profusely, Kira, Ethan, and Conner worked together to clean it up and by the time the soda had disappeared, the subject had moved on to the U.S. team's chances in the World Cup, Tommy's biology class, and the most recent renovations to Hayley's café. The pizza arrived on time, Conner liked most of his presents (he didn't quite understand why Tommy had given him a book on dinosaurs and stars), and the ice cake hadn't melted so they counted it as a win as far as the group parties usually went.
But by the time the party was over and everyone had agreed to meet for brunch before they left for their respective hotels, Conner and Kira were desperate to be alone again. They collapsed on the couch into a pile together and moaned pitifully. "I forgot how hard it is to entertain people."
"Not people, our friends," Conner contradicted with an exhausted voice. "I just want to die right here."
Kira leaned against his shoulder, letting his arm curl around her shoulder so she could snuggle in closer. "That sounds like a good idea."